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Cheniere Energy Secures Option for Fourth LNG Terminal

Cheniere Energy Inc. last Tuesday said it secured an option on a large site at the mouth of the Calcasieu Channel in Cameron Parish, LA, to develop its fourth proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The Creole Trail LNG is the Houston-based developer's second project proposed in Cameron Parish and in the state of Louisiana. The initial LNG project, to be located in Sabine Pass, LA, received a final environmental nod from FERC earlier this month, putting it one step away from receiving a certificate (see NGI, Nov. 15).

Cheniere also intends to build LNG terminals in Corpus Christi, TX, and Freeport, TX. The Freeport project received FERC approval in June, while the proposed Corpus Christi facility won draft environmental approval earlier this month (see NGI, June 28). The company nixed plans to develop LNG terminals in Brownsville, TX, and Mobile Bay, AL.

The Creole Trail facility is expected to be similar to Cheniere's Sabine Pass facility, with two docks, three 160,000-cubic-meter storage tanks and initial regasification capacity of 2.6 Bcf/d, the company said.

"We will begin the NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] pre-filing process with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in January and expect the permitting process to take 12 to 18 months," said Cheniere LNG President Keith Meyer.

Unlike with LNG projects on the East and West Coasts, Cheniere Energy appears to be winning the support of local communities. "Cheniere Energy is welcome in Louisiana and especially in Cameron Parish," said Steve Trahan, president of the Cameron Parish Police Jury.

Cheniere has a 100% interest in the LNG project being developed in Sabine Pass, a 66.7% interest in the Corpus Christi project, and a 100% interest in the proposed Creole Trail facility. Cheniere is a 30% limited partner in Freeport LNG Development LP, which is developing the proposed terminal in Freeport.

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Natural Gas Intelligence (NGI), is a leading provider of natural gas, shale news and market information for the deregulated North American natural gas industry. Since the first issue of Natural Gas Intelligence was published in 1981, NGI has provided key pricing and data relied upon daily by thousands of industry participants in the U.S, Canada and Mexico as well as Central and South America, Europe and Asia.